536 



THE LAWS OF THE EARLIER ENGLISH TRIBES. 



hiin. The lawman shall receive every summer 400 feet of 

 vadmal from the law-court property for his work ; also half of 

 all the fines. When the lawman has had the law-telling for 

 three summers, he shall recite the Thing-regulations for the 

 first Friday of the fourth summer; then he can give up office 

 if he likes. If he wishes to keep office, the greater part of 

 the law-court men can again decide. The lawman is to be fined 

 three marks if he does not come to the Althing on the Friday 

 before people go to the law-hill, no necessity hindering, and 

 another lawman is to be elected if the people wish " (Gragas, i.) 



The following table shows how long the elected lawmen 

 usually remained in office, and how great was the order and 

 stability of government in those days, the lawman having to 

 stand for election once a year : 



Rafn (Lawman) . 

 Thorarin 

 Thorkel 

 Thorgeir 



930-950 (20 years) 



950-970 (20 ) 



970-985 (15 ) 



985-1002 (17 , ) 



The whole of Norway was divided into four law districts, but 

 not before the time of Hakon the Good, who codified the laws : 

 (1) Frostathing's Law district, (2) Gulatliing's Law district, (3) 

 Eidsifjathing 's, (4) Borgartliing' s ; but we find that the Gula- 

 thing existed, and had probably existed long, before Harald 

 Fairhair. 1 



In the course of time changes and additions were made. In 

 regard to how these new laws were to be made, the laws them- 

 selves contain no provision ; but that they were made by the 

 co-operation of king and people is evident, and their adoption 

 depended, no doubt, on the standing, wisdom, and influence of 

 him who proposed them. 



When Harald Fairhair became king of all Norway his idea 

 seems to have been that the royal power established by him 



1 Gulathing, so called from Gula or 

 Guley (an island), where the Thing took 

 place. Frostnthinij, from some local 

 name. Our knowledge of the earlier 

 laws of the Northmen is derived from 

 the earlier Gulathing's Law, almost com- 

 pletely preserved in writing from the 

 latter half of the 12th century. The 

 earlier Frostathiruf s Law is almost com- 

 pletely preserved in a writing from the 

 earlier part of the 13th century. Of the 



earlier Eidsifjathing's Law, the earlier 

 Bor/jart king's Law, and the earlier Bjark- 

 eyjar Law, or town-law, there are only 

 fragments left. Most of the Icelandic 

 laws are comprised in the Grdijds, which 

 is completely preserved in writing not 

 later than the year 1200. 



The historical Sagas often show the 

 effect of the laws in real life and how 

 the latter were interpreted by the 

 people. 



